“You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.”
– Job 14:5
How do we live life in the present, without the difficulties of remembering the past, or worrying about the future? Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian author, answers that question in this quote from one of his short stories called, The Three Questions.
“Remember then: there is only one time that is important – Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.”
“Now why is this true?” asks Philip Yancey in his wonderful book, Reaching For The Invisible God. “Because we have control over no other time. The Past is unchangeable. There is absolutely nothing we can do to change anything that has happened in the past. The only thing we can do about the past is to learn from it. The Future is unpredictable. We have no guarantees about tomorrow, or if we’ll even have a tomorrow (James 4:14). We can only live the life directly before us – and that’s right now.”
I like this poem by David L. Weatherford, called “Slow Dance” because it captures this thought by encouraging us to live each day by doing all we can to make it a wonderful day for everyone in our lives (including ourselves). You might want to read it slowly.
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You’d better slow down. Don’t dance so fast. Time is short. The music won’t last.
Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask, “How are you?” Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done do you lie in bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?
You’d better slow down. Don’t dance so fast. Time is short. The music won’t last.
Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow? And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good fellowship die? Cause you never had time to call and say, “Hi.”
You’d better slow down. Don’t dance so fast. Time is short. The music won’t last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere, You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day, It is like an unopened gift . . . thrown away.
Life is not a race. Do take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.
Maranatha!
